TWI502120B - Lock cylinder - Google Patents

Description

Lock heart

The invention relates to a lock of a luggage, in particular a lock cylinder of a TSA luggage lock, wherein the lock core can be actuated by an associated dimpled key.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, US airports strengthened security measures. For the safety of air travellers, the responsible US security agency (the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)) will now screen all checked baggage. In some cases, the baggage is also opened and manually checked. If the bag affected by this is locked, the lock must be forcibly opened.

In order to avoid damaging opening and the resulting damage to individual locks, TSA locks that can be actuated using associated special keys have been developed. Since only the TSA has a separate dedicated key and also defines a plurality of different encoding types for such a dedicated key, the TSA lock can be opened by the TSA without damaging it. Conversely, the purchaser of a TSA lock or a suitcase with a TSA lock does not have a dedicated key, ie, the TSA lock is only supplied with the Wu special key. This mode of operation of the TSA lock is also explained on the website of the Traffic Safety Administration (www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/locks.shtm).

At the same time, many manufacturers have proposed luggage locks with mechanical code locks that can be opened not only by a cryptographic mechanism, but also by a lock that can be actuated by such a TSA-specific key. For example, these sets of lock cores can be constructed for a recessed key having a standardized code of the TSA006 type. Manufacturers of such luggage locks are, for example, Travel Sentry, Inc., USA (www.travelsentry.org) or Safe Skies LC., New York, USA (www.safeskieslocks.com).

It has been found that the TSA lock can be opened without authorization by inserting a very simple operating tool or even a daily use item into the keyhole of the lock.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a lock of the kind described above which increases the safety against destructive opening.

This object is achieved by a lock for a luggage lock having the features of claim 1 of the patent application, in particular by a heart for a luggage lock having a lock housing, a cylinder core and a plurality of tumblers, the lock ring is rotatable in the lock core housing and has a key hole with a key insertion port, and the plurality of tumblers are arranged in two rows opposite to each other along the key hole The lock core can be actuated by the associated recessed key, the associated recessed key comprising, on oppositely disposed, two flat sides, respective coded portions provided with recesses and respective adjacent code portions extending to the top of the key The end, the associated key, in particular the TSA006 type, has at least one of the at least one row of tumblers that is located farthest from the key insertion opening in the portion of the keyhole that receives the recessed end of the associated key.

The lock core according to the invention thus matches the associated recessed key, in particular to the TSA006 key with a predetermined code. The recessed key has two flat sides. A first coding portion is disposed on the first flat side, the first coding portion having a concave configuration along the first row. The first end without the recess abuts the first coding portion in the direction of the tip of the key. A second coding portion is provided on the second flat side, the second coding portion having a concave configuration along the second row. The second end without the recess abuts the second coding portion in the direction of the tip of the key.

Typically, the recessed key is made into a reversible key. Then, another row of recesses corresponding to the second row of recesses corresponding to the second horizontal side is disposed on the first flat side horizontally adjacent to the first row of recesses, and the second recess is horizontally adjacent to the second row The second flat side is provided with another row of recesses corresponding to the first row of recesses corresponding to the first horizontal side.

The lock core includes a lock core housing, a lock cylinder and a plurality of brake bolts, wherein the lock cylinder is rotatable in the lock core housing and has a key insertion opening. The tumblers are disposed in two opposite rows along the keyhole, and the first flat side of the first row of tumblers and the female key (or also the second flat side) when the female key has been inserted into the keyhole The first row of recesses cooperate, and the second row of tumblers cooperate with the second row of recesses of the second flat side of the recessed key (or may also be the first flat side).

a tumbler of the first row of tumblers or the second row of tweezers that is furthest from the key insertion opening is disposed in a portion of the key hole that receives the recessed first or second end of the female key, that is, The tumbler is arranged away from the coded portions of the inserted key. In this regard, the term "a tumbler at least one row of tumblers that is furthest from the key insertion port" means that this is not the absolute farthest tumbler in discussion (relative to all rows of tumblers). Instead, the tweezers that are furthest from the key insertion port in the respective brake tumblers are discussed.

Therefore, the optional farthest tumbler of each row of tumblers is set deeper in the keyhole than the one set according to the predetermined code of the associated key, that is, the key insertion opening further away from the keyhole. . Thus the described tumbler is farther away from the key insertion opening than is known for the lock cylinder, making lock picking much more difficult. Thus, the optional farthest tumblers of each row of tumblers do not cooperate with the respective coded portions of the associated recessed keys or the respective recessed ones.

The lock can be made for only a single key code, as for example the aforementioned luggage lock with a mechanical code lock and an additional TSA function, i.e. in this case the lock is actuatable only by the associated dedicated key. However, the lock can also typically be part of a master key system that includes a plurality of locks, and the individual locks can be actuated by the user using the individual keys and by the TSA using the master key (ie, the associated dedicated key).

According to an embodiment, the collar has a plurality of ribs in the region of the top end of the key, and the rib extends in the key insertion direction and projects into the keyhole to engage the complementary key when the associated key has been inserted into the keyhole Associated with the key in the groove. This makes it more difficult to copy the associated keys. In addition, it is not possible to fully insert a key without a complementary groove into the keyhole of the lock cylinder.

The farthest tumbler preferably includes a core pin having a locking tip axis that extends through a locking groove formed between the ribs of the locking sleeve such that the associated key When inserted into the keyhole, the locking ribs cooperate with the lobes of the associated key. Since the groove formed between the ribs of the lock cylinder cannot be easily accessed by using the aforementioned operation tool or the article for daily use to push the farthest tumbler back from the keyhole, the tamper-proof can be further improved. safety.

In this regard, when the associated key has been inserted into the keyhole, the locking tip cooperates with the beveled portion of the ridge of the associated key.

It must first be noted that the following description relates to the TSA006 recessed key. For security reasons, the TSA006 type key in Figure 5 is not fully shown, but its coding and scale have been modified. Therefore, the associated lock core is also displayed in a modified manner in Figures 1 and 4.

The lock core shown in Fig. 1 includes a lock housing 11 and a lock cylinder 13 having a key hole 37 with a key insertion opening 71 and rotatably supported in the lock housing 11. In addition, a plurality of tumblers 15, 17 are provided, arranged in two rows arranged opposite each other along the keyhole 37. In the view according to Fig. 1, the three upper tumblers 15 arranged in the upper row of tumblers (see also Fig. 2) can be seen, and the three lower tumblers arranged in the lower row of tumblers can also be seen. 17 (also see Fig. 4), for the sake of clarity, only one of the tumblers 15, 17 in each row of tumblers is provided with a component symbol. Each of the tumblers 15, 17 includes a locking ram 19, a housing pin 21 and a tip spring 23. When a concave key (Fig. 5) associated with the lock core is inserted into the keyhole 37 and the lock breast tip 19 and the shell tip 21 are displaced, the tip 19, 21 is released from the lock core housing 11 and the lock cylinder 13 to be separated. In the case of the face, the tumblers 15, 17 allow the lock cylinder 13 to rotate in the lock housing 11.

For purposes of illustration only, the tumblers 15, 17 are slightly pushed back from the keyhole 37 relative to their static position when the recessed key associated with the lock is not yet inserted into the keyhole 37. The tumblers 15, 17 have an equal spacing from each other except for the tumblers 17' of the lower row of tumblers that are furthest from the key insertion opening 71.

According to Fig. 5, the female key 25 for actuating the lock core has two flat sides, and only the upper of the two flat sides can be seen in Fig. 5 due to the selected view (flat view). Flat side 27. A plurality of recesses 29, 31 arranged in two rows 33, 35 are provided on the upper flat side 27. Row 33 is referred to below as "upper" row 33 and row 35 is referred to as "lower" row 35. For the sake of clarity, only one of the recesses 33, 35 of each row of recesses 33, 35 is provided with component symbols, if necessary.

The upper row 33 includes four recesses 29, of which three recesses 29 disposed closest to the key top 39 cooperate with the three upper tumblers 15 of the lock cylinder when the female key 25 is inserted into the keyhole 37 of the lock. The recess 29 furthest from the key top 39 is not used here.

The recessed key 25 is made as a double-sided key, i.e., the double-sided key is symmetrical with respect to a rotation of 180° about its longitudinal axis. Thus, the lower flat side, not shown on the female key 25, is provided with the same concave pattern as shown on the upper flat side 27, also having a corresponding "upper" row 33 and a corresponding "lower" row 35. In this regard, the recessed key 25 is inserted into the keyhole 39 of the lock core in an eccentric manner, that is, laterally offset from the center of the lock cylinder 13.

Thus, in this regard, the "lower" row of lower flat sides formed directly below the "upper" row 33 of the upper flat side 27 shown in FIG. 5 includes the "lower" row with the upper flat side 27 shown. The recess 31 of 33 corresponds to three recesses. When the female key 25 is inserted into the keyhole 37 of the lock core, among the three recesses, the two recesses 31 which are furthest from the key top end 39 and the two tumblers 17 closest to the key insertion opening 71 (see the 4 and the bottom half of Figure 1).

The upper row 33 of the recesses 29 of the upper flat side 27 defines the coded portion 41 of the flat side 27 above the recessed key 25. The coding portion 41 abuts the non-recessed end portion 43 of the flat side 27 above the recessed key 25 that extends to the key top end 39. Similarly, the lower row 35 of recesses 31 of the upper flat side 27 defines a coded portion 45 of the flat side 27 above the recessed key 25, the coded portion 45 and the recessed end of the flat side 27 above the recessed key 25. The portions 47 are adjacent. On the lower flat side of the recessed key 25 there is a corresponding coding portion and end.

The tumbler 17' in the lower row of tumblers farthest from the key insertion opening 71, here also the tumbler that is the farthest from the key insertion opening 71 (see the lower half of Fig. 4 and Fig. 1), Provided in a portion of the keyhole 37 that accommodates the non-recessed end portion, which is located on the lower flat side of the recessed key 25, corresponding to the upper flat side 27 shown in FIG. The row of rows 35 has no concave ends. Thus, the farthest tumbler 17' is provided in the keyhole 37 than is provided by the recess 31' of the "lower" row 35 (or by a corresponding recess on the lower flat side of the recessed key 25) deep. This makes the lock of the lock heart more difficult. Therefore, the farthest tumbler 17' does not cooperate with the predetermined recesses 29, 31 of the recessed key 25.

As can be seen from Figures 1, 3 and 4, the lock cylinder 13 has a plurality of ribs 49 in the region containing the key top end 39, each rib extending in the key insertion direction. The rib 49 protrudes into the key hole 37, and a groove 51 of the lock cylinder 13 is formed between the ribs 49 of the lock cylinder 13. The key top end 39 of the female key 25 is made complementary to the groove 51 so that when the female key 25 is inserted into the key hole 37, the rib 49 of the lock cylinder 13 engages the groove 55 of the female key 25 (Fig. 5 In the middle, the rib 53 of the concave key 25 is engaged in the groove 51 of the lock cylinder. Therefore, only the concave key complementary to the pattern of the above-described lock cylinder 13 can be completely inserted into the key hole 37.

In this regard, the furthest tumbler 17' is configured such that the locking ram 19' cooperates with the ridge 53' of the female key 25 when the female key 25 is inserted into the keyhole 37. In Fig. 5, the contact point of the lock rib 19' on the ridge 53' is marked with the symbol 57. As can be seen from Fig. 4, the slightly axial axis 59 of the lock cylinder 19' extends for this purpose through the groove 51' of the lock cylinder 13 formed between the ribs 49 of the lock cylinder 13. The ridge 49 surrounding the groove 51' makes it more difficult to push the tumbler 17 back from the keyhole 37 by a specially designed destructive opening tool, so that the safety of the anti-lock quilt can be further improved.

The lock cylinders 15 and 17 are coded to have two different joint depths at the locations where the tumblers 15, 17 are engaged into the recesses 29, 31 of the female key 25. In contrast, the farthest tumbler 17' does not engage into any of the recesses 29, 31 of the recessed key 25, but cooperates with the ridge 53' of the recessed key 25. In the area of the contact point 57, the ridge 53' has a height corresponding to the height of the concave key 25 at the point where the concave portions 29, 31 of the coding portions 41, 45 are not provided. Therefore, the farthest tumbler 17' is coded as a key blank for making the recessed key 25, i.e., the tumbler 17' is coded to a zero engagement depth. The remaining tumblers 15, 17 of the lock cylinder cooperating with the recesses 29, 31 of the female key 25 are not coded to a first joint depth greater than zero, i.e., coded to a second joint depth greater than the first joint depth. In this regard, those tumblers 15, 17 that cooperate with the recesses 29, 31 having a smaller outer radius in the top view of Fig. 5 are encoded as the first joint depth. Those tumblers 15, 17 that cooperate with the recesses 29, 31 having a larger outer radius in the top view of Fig. 5 are encoded as a second joint depth.

However, it is also generally possible to arrange the contact point 57 of the lock breast tip 19' on the ridge 53' in the region where the ridge 53' is chamfered toward the key top end 39. The beveled area begins with line 61 drawn as an auxiliary line in Figure 5. In this case, the farthest tumbler 17' is no longer coded to zero engagement depth. Therefore, the intermediate joint depth can be encoded to further improve the safety of the anti-manipulation.

Figure 6 shows a luggage lock with a mechanical cryptographic mechanism 63 that can be used to lock or unlock the latch 65 for locking a zipper or buckle of a piece of luggage in the receiving recess 69 of the luggage lock. By properly setting the digital code (released state), the latch 65 can be retracted from the receiving notch 69 to release the corresponding zipper or corresponding latch. This retracting process is completed by actuation of the push button 67. Conversely, if an incorrect numeric password (locked state) is set, the latch 65 is prevented from retracting from the receiving notch 69. In addition to the mechanical cryptographic mechanism 63, the luggage lock shown in Fig. 6 also has a lock core as described in connection with Figs. The latch 65 can also be released by a recessed key associated with the lock core 9 without being limited by the set digital code. Thus, the illustrated luggage lock is a so-called two-body lock as described in US 6,513,356 B1 and US 6,698,434 B2.

9. . . Lock heart

11. . . Lock housing

13. . . Locking

15, 17, 17’. . . Toggle

19, 19’. . . Locked bile

twenty one. . . Shell tip

twenty three. . . Tip spring

25. . . Inner key

27. . . Upper flat side

29, 31, 31’. . . Concave

33. . . Upper row

35. . . Lower row

37. . . Keyhole

39. . . Top of the key

41, 45. . . Coding section

43, 47. . . Ends

49, 53, 53’. . . Rib

51, 51', 55. . . Trench

57. . . Contact point

59. . . Locking bile axis

61. . . line

63. . . Cryptographic agency

65. . . Latch

67. . . Push button

69. . . Receiving gap

71. . . Key insertion port

The invention has been described above by way of examples with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a lock core having a lock cylinder according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the lock cylinder of the lock of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view schematically showing a front view of the lock core of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the lock cylinder along line 4-4, wherein the longitudinal section of Figure 4 is perpendicular to the longitudinal section of Figure 1;

Figure 5 schematically shows the key associated with the lock core of Figure 1;

Fig. 6 is a view schematically showing a TSA luggage lock having the lock core shown in Fig. 1.

11. . . Lock housing

13. . . Locking

15, 17, 17’. . . Toggle

19, 19’. . . Locked bile

twenty one. . . Shell tip

twenty three. . . Tip spring

37. . . Keyhole

49. . . Rib

71. . . Key insertion port

Claims (7)

A lock core for a luggage lock, having a lock core housing (11), a lock cylinder (13) and a plurality of brake bolts (15, 17), the lock cylinder (13) being capable of being in the lock core housing (11) Rotating and having a keyhole (37) with a key insertion opening (19), the plurality of tumblers (15, 17) being disposed in two rows opposite to each other along the keyhole (37), wherein the locking core can Actuated by the associated recessed key (25), the associated key (25) includes respective coded portions (41, provided with recesses (29, 31) on oppositely disposed two flat sides (27). 45) and respective ends (43, 47) adjoining the coded portion and extending to the top end (39) of the key, the associated key (25) being specifically of the TSA006 type, at least one row of tumblers being separated from the key insertion opening ( 19) The farthest tumbler (17') is disposed in the distal end of the non-recessed end (43, 47) of the keyhole (37) that accommodates the associated key (25) such that the associated key is completely Upon insertion, the non-recessed end of the associated key engages and displaces the tumbler such that the lock is opened, wherein the tumbler includes a single locking ram having a locking tip axis, the locking tip axis Throughout a groove of the lock cylinder, the groove of the lock cylinder being formed between the adjacent ribs penetrating the lock cylinder, such that the rib is at least one groove of the associated key when the associated key is fully inserted into the key hole Slot collaboration. The lock core of claim 1, wherein the lock ring (13) has a plurality of ribs (49) extending in a key insertion direction in a region accommodating the key top end (39), the ridge (49) ) protruding to the keyhole (37) To engage the associated key (25) in the groove (55) of the associated key (25) when the associated key (25) is inserted into the keyhole (37). The lock core of claim 1, wherein the lock breast (19') is associated with the ridge of the associated key (25) when the associated key (25) is inserted into the keyhole (37) ( The chamfered part of 53') cooperates. The lock cylinder of claim 1, wherein the tumbler (15, 17) is coded to engage the recess (29, 17) of the associated key (25) (29, 31) The position in the) has a different joint depth, the farthest tumbler (17') is coded to zero engagement depth, and the remaining tumblers (15, 17) are not coded to be greater than zero. A second engagement depth greater than the first engagement depth is encoded. The lock core of claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the tumblers (15, 17) arranged in a row are equidistant from each other except for the farthest tumbler (17'). The lock core of claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the keyhole (37) is eccentrically disposed in the lock cylinder (13). A luggage lock having a lock core (9) as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 further having another lock device (63) and a zipper or lock for locking a piece of luggage a latching mechanism (65), wherein the latching mechanism (65) can be selectively locked or released by the locking device (63), and the latching mechanism (65) can bypass the locking device ( 63) and released by the lock (9).